


Baby Take A Bow

by Wakkosmallet93



Series: Starlet Sib [2]
Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:00:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29400900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wakkosmallet93/pseuds/Wakkosmallet93
Summary: As the day for finalizing her adoption by Yakko gets closer, Jess begins to explore acting.Disclaimer: I do not own Animaniacs or it's characters. THey are used for entertainment purposes only and I am making no money off of them. Thank you! All credit goes to Tom Ruegger and Warner Brothers Animation.
Series: Starlet Sib [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2155074
Kudos: 5





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MyFavoriteColorisLamppost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyFavoriteColorisLamppost/gifts).



> This fanfic is the sequel to My Friend Warner. It is also in this fic where I picked up an editor, and someone who has been continuously helped me since! Thanks, @wuvwinchesterhugs !

Wakko woke to the sound of shuffling. He’d been sleeping lighter than usual because Jess had been overly reluctant to get into bed that night. That usually meant either he or Yakko or Dot would be woken up. He cracked an eye open and saw Jess standing in the doorway. “Nightmare?” He asked quietly, sitting up.

“Yeah.” Jess whispered back. She padded over and sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. “Things are gonna be finalized in a couple of days, right? After all this time? What if something goes wrong?”

“Nothin’ s’gonna go wrong.” Wakko wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Is that what you were dreamin’ about?”

“Uh uh.” She frowned. “The talent show tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Wakko rubbed his face. “Lemme guess. You’re in your underwear?”

“No. My voice being gone.”

Wakko waved that off. He’d dealt with laryngitis before. For him it wasn’t a big deal. “You’re gonna be fine. Yakko, Dot, and I will be right there in the wings to support you.” He stood. “Some warm milk will help. C’mon.”

Ever since the day Yakko had proved he was turning eighteen and was,indeed, old enough to be Jess’ legal guardian, things had been interesting. Jess’ anxiety had gone down quite a bit even though she still clung to Wakko whenever she could. But she also spent equal time with Yakko, and Dot. That was something that made all of them happy.

Wakko favorite times though were when she would attempt to imitate something from one of their sketches. Her ability to use hammer space and the gag bag had improved dramatically over the last couple of months. She didn’t get nearly as tired as she had before.

They still didn’t let her use any of that out in public. Yakko was the strictest about this. He was determined to keep her out of the tabloids. Wakko, on occasion, would let her if Yakko wasn’t with them, and they were alone.

“Wakko? Milk?” Jess asked.

“Right.” Wakko snapped himself out of his thoughts and went and got the milk. “You want it in a mug?”

“Yeah.” Jess sat down quietly at the table. “Wakko? You and your brother and sister do this acting thing a lot… do you like it?”

“’course we do. Wouldn’t do it if we didn’t.” Wakko said. “Why?”

“I wanna try it.” She said. “But I don’t think Yakko’s gonna let me.” She took the milk from him when it was done warming up a bit.

“Have y’asked him?” Wakko asked. This could turn into a much longer conversation than he wanted to get into in the middle of the night. “Maybe we can both ask him t’morrow.” He stood as she finished her milk. “C’mon back to bed now. School in a few hours.”

“I don’t wanna go back to school.”

Wakko paused. “What? Why not? Someone givin’ y’trouble?”

“Uh huh.” Jess said. But she got up off the chair and went into her bedroom. Wakko followed, intending to stay with her until she fell asleep. The bedroom, which had started out with a small set of furniture, had changed, too.

It now held various books on acting, and cartoon physics. She also had a collection of their films from before they were locked away. She watched them regularly to keep her great grandfather’s memory alive. Sometimes Wakko and his siblings watched with her. It was clear that each of them had made an impression on her in some way or another. She had a closet full of clothes that she knew how to change into in a flash. That had been Dot’s doing.

By her bed she kept a mallet. She said it was for security, and Wakko realized that maybe it was her way of having him in her room even when he wasn’t there.

“Your room looks way better than ours.” Wakko complimented.

“Nah.” Jess said. She climbed into her bed. “How did I let you guys talk me into this talent show, Wakko? What if I’m no good? Just because you guys are raising me don’t make me any good.”

“You’re brilliant,” Wakko said. He yawned a bit. “Listen, if you really don’t wanna do it, y’don’t have to.” He started to tuck her in. “But if y’do want to, we’ve your back.”

“I just don’t wanna let Yakko down.”

“Y’won’t. Yakko would rather you feel comfortable and have fun.” It still floored the Warners how much Jess worried about upsetting them, considering their personalities didn’t dictate they got easily perturbed. “Get some sleep, and we’ll talk more in the morning.”

Wakko figured that Yakko would probably do a better job of convincing her at this point. He silently crept towards the door once he heard her breathing even out. He headed back to his room.

“Another nightmare? Second one this week.” Yakko spoke up.

Wakko nodded. “She’s worried about the talent show tomorrow.”

“I figured,” Yakko said. “I’ll talk to her in the morning.”

“Do you ever sleep soundly?” Wakko asked despite knowing the answer for years.

“Nope. Not for years.” Yakko said. “And now with her in the tower, I’m even more awake.”

“She adores you, you know. She worries sometimes about letting you down.”

“I noticed,” Yakko said. “Guess I’ll have to have a talk about that, too.” He yawned and put his glass in the sink. “Let’s go back to bed. Tomorrow’s a big day for all of us and in a lot of ways.”

#

Long after he heard Wakko snoring, Yakko sat up in the living room. He was listening for any of them to wake up. It was something he did sometimes, along with singing the lullaby of his parents when he thought his siblings couldn’t hear. It always took him a while to go back to sleep after being woken up by one of them.

The idea that Jess was putting so much pressure on herself to make a good impression on him bothered him. It was against his very nature to worry about things like that. He supposed it could be different for her, given that she had been brought up solely on their work and probably had idolized them in a way no one else did. Rubbing his face, he got up and headed back to his room and his ball pit bed.


	2. Two

Jess pushed herself to get out of bed the next morning when she heard noise in the hall between her room and the kitchen. She heard the Warners talking. Had Wakko told their older brother what was going on with her? She eyed clock. Seven in the morning. So they were still gonna make her go to school. Ugh…

She groaned and got changed into something more school appropriate and fixed her hair with one of the many flower bows Dot had given her.

Jess left her room, still feeling very unprepared for the school day. “Morning.” She said to the Warners as she sat down for waffles. Yakko and Wakko had set it up so that every morning, they’d have something different. And it didn’t change from week to week. “Just one.” She said when Yakko started to put a second waffle on her plate.

“Again? Pretty soon you’re not gonna need cartoon physics to slip through anything.” Yakko said. He put the second waffle on top of the first one. “Two. Minimum.” He said. Then he handed the plate to her.

Jess sighed softly. “I don’t wanna go today. Can’t I just go with you guys instead?”

“Sorry, no can do. Not after you yelled at the director for hurting Wakko.” Yakko said.

“It was an accident.” Jess said. “I promise I won’t do it

again. You won’t hear a peep out of me!”

“Forget it.” Yakko said. “Now come over here and sit with me for a minute. We have to talk.” He gestured to the couch.

Jess got up after eating the last square of the second waffle. She joined Yakko on the couch. “What?”

“First of all, why didn’t you tell us what was going on in school, hm?”

Jess could only shrug. She didn’t have any excuse for not saying anything. She knew the Warners would’ve handled the bullying much more effectively than the school had so far. But still. She didn’t want to keep depending on them. She either was, or was not a Warner herself, and she chose to try and figure it out for herself. She’d only mentioned it to Wakko last night because it’d started to bother her that day. “I was handling it okay until yesterday.” She said.

“What happened yesterday?” Dot asked. She joined Jess and Yakko on the couch.

“Someone brought in an article…. from a tabloid.” She wouldn’t look at Yakko. “I don’t know where the paper came from…I don’t even know if it was current. I have to think it was, though. That bunch doesn’t do much with old news, anyway.”

“What did it say?” Wakko asked. “Didja bring it back with you?”

“Yes.” With a deep sigh, Jess dug in her backpack and pulled the crumbled paper out. “I’m sorry, Yakko. I don’t know how any of this got out. I’ve been so careful.”

“Let me see it.” Yakko said. He took the paper and easily uncrumpled it and scanned the article. “Mm…” He folded the paper and stuffed it in his hammer space pocket. “Well. It was bound to come out eventually. I should have suspected someone would see you out with Skippy and Slappy at some point.”

“What did it say, Yakko?” Wakko asked. “Is it about us or…?”

“Someone leaked to the media about Jess’ abilities. They apparently saw it while her and Skippy were out playing.”

Jess buried her face in her hands. “They’re calling me a freak of nature.”

“That’s not nice…” Dot said. “Did you give them the mallet?”

“No. I told them that they were making me feel bad. And that made it worse.” Jess tried her hardest to live a life that would not give the Warners more trouble. They had enough of it of their own accord. But truthfully, she’d been considering giving one kid in particular the mallet that very day. “Then they started in on you guys, and well….”

“Y’didn’t…” Wakko said. “We’ve told ya before. We don’t need you t’keep defendin’ us.”

“Had to.” Jess said. “No one verbally attacks my best friend and gets away with it.”

“Jess…” Yakko sighed. “Okay, and about the talent show…. Look. I know you think you have to live up to some ridiculous standards with us, but you really don’t. If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to do it. But if you do, all I want you to focus on is having fun. You’ve been practicing with Wakko for two months. I think you can do it and flawlessly. But don’t do it for me or because you think I’ll disown you if you don’t.”

Jess merely nodded. “I’ll do it.” She said quietly. “But you’ve to be back stage with me, okay?” She looked hopefully at the three Warners. “Please?”

“Sure. We can definitely make that happen.” Yakko said. “But don’t forget, I’ll be on stage with you the whole time anyway.” Then he glanced at his watch. “Well. You’re officially late for school, so why don’t we call it for the day, and we’ll get you ready for tonight?”

Jess reached over and hugged Yakko tightly. Her eldest adoptive brother gently pried her off after giving her a gentle squeeze. “Thank you, Yakko. I promise I’ll do better.”

“You’ve nothin’ to worry about.” Wakko said. “Go get yourself ready, an’ we’ll run everything right here.”

“Okay!” At least for now, her security mallet would stay where it needed to be.

#

When Jess was out of the living room, Wakko let out a huge sigh. “I get she’s protective an’ all, but…”

“There’s nothing we can do about it. We’re the most stable family she’s ever had. I can’t really blame her.” Yakko said. “What we can do is go and investigate these “friends” of hers ourselves.”

“But Yakko, how are we gonna do that?” Dot asked.

“She’s got a field trip to the Griffith Observatory next week. Let’s say we all volunteer, like the good older siblings we are.” He put on his plotting smirk. “I wouldn’t mind learning a few things more about our solar system.”

“Me either.” Wakko said. He would make sure to have his heavy duty mallet ready and waiting for anyone he caught making his best friend sad. “I hear they’ve got space snacks too.”

Dot nodded. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Wakko was about to reply when Jess came back out. “Oh… that reminds me…” He turned to Yakkko. “She wants to go into acting.”

Yakko paused in his stretching and looked over. “Oh? What brought that on?”

“There was a guy at my school a few days ago. They said he was a talent scout.”

“Oh really?” Yakko paused. “What were they doing there?”

“I don’t know. My grade wasn’t really allowed to talk to him. But I heard someone say they were looking for younger stage actors. When no one was looking, I swiped this.” She pulled a card out of her jeans pocket.

Wakko took the card from her. “’ey, I know this guy. He’s not bad. I think he represents Skippy.” He held the card out to Yakko. “I say we let her try it.”

“Now, just hold on. This is a big decision, and it shouldn’t be made lightly.”

Jess pulled out a scale, and an anvil that should’ve been much too heavy for her. She stacked it on the scale, and watched the numbers spin infinitely, before climbing up on top of the anvil. “That heavy enough for you?” She asked Yakko, crossing her arms.

“I see we’ve been a wonderfully bad influence on you.” Yakko said, half smirking. “Alright, you think you’re ready? We’ll try it. But once you’re signed up, you can’t back out at least for the length of your contract with the agency.” He took the card from Wakko. “We’ll call him later and see what he has to offer.”

“Now c’mon down from there and let’s do a run through.” Wakko said, helping her down off the anvil. “You’re really getting quick on your feet with those gags.”

“I’m trying…” Jess said.

“You’re doin’ it.” Wakko insisted. He used a large push broom to sweep the props away and then stood the broom up against the wall. “Okay. Y’ready?”

“Yeah.” Jess said. She moved ot the center of the floor while Dot, Yakko, and Wakko sat on the couch. A spotlight began to shine down on her.

“Remember, Yakko’s gonna accompany you tonight, but let’s just use the tape recorder for now.” Wakko said. He pushed play.

Jess waited for the appropriate measure and then she began belching on cue. She would need to drink a _lot_ of soda before the performance because other than Yakko, no one else was allowed on stage.

She got to the end of the concerto and her last belch fizzled before it even got started. She scowled. “Forget it.” She muttered.

“What? No! That was really faboo!” Wakko said. He stood and walked over. “Y’definitely need more carbonation, though.” He patted her on the shoulder.

“I can’t believe you let him talk you in to this.” Dot said. “There are way less gross things Yakko or I could’ve taught you.”

Jess giggled. “I know, but this is way more fun.” She grinned at Wakko. “Did I do it enough justice?” She asked.

“Y’did your own version, and that’s plenty good enough for me.” Wakko said. “Those kids won’t know what hit ‘em.”

“Especially after the field trip.” Yakko said.

Jess was all smiles now. “You guys are the best.”

“WE know.” Wakko and his brother and sister chorused. “Let’s get you all carbonated, then you can try again.” He led the way to the kitchen.

“I love you guys…” Jess said. “Not just as a friend.”

Wakko smiled. “That’s good.” He went over and pulled out a six pack of cola from the fridge. “Alright. Start drinkin’.” He said, pulling a can off the ring.

“There’s something you don’t hear an authority figure say every day.” Jess said with a laugh.

Wakko shook his head. “That’s why Yakko didn’t say it.” He watched Jess drink the cola in more gulps than he would’ve had to take. It reminded him that Jess was still mostly human despite some of her abilities to appear more toon like. “How you feelin’ now?” He asked.

“I feel like I’m gonna blow.” Jess said. “Time for another practice!”

“That’s m’girl.” Wakko gently patted her on the back. “Let’s go. One more, then we’ll go to the dress rehearsal over at the auditorium.”

Jess nodded and wandered back into the living room. “Yakko, can you play this time?”

“Sure!” Yakko produce a small grand piano, and propped it up. “Probably a good idea to get used to that over a tape recorder anyway.”

“Uh huh.” Jess said. “Can we do this now?”

“Yeah.” Yakko said. He turned to Wakko. “Nice job, Wakko. I think she’s finally coming out of her shell.”

“Maybe.” Wakko wasn’t entirely sure. Jess wavered back and forth on nerves and he knew that could mean her desire to do anything similar to them could disappear as quickly as it came. “Let’s just see how it goes t’night.” He turned back to Jess. “Now remember. Yakko’s gonna wait for your cue, so you dictate when you’re ready. He won’t start playin’ before that.”

“I know. I’ve seen your performances a bazillion times.” She went back to the spotlight which was still on. Then, she took an extra gulp of air. She nodded to Yakko as she swallowed it.

Wakko watched her second practice. It still made him feel all warm and fuzzy that she’d been so determined to do one of his Wakkorotti concerts. He’d thought it would never work, but she had proven him wrong ten fold. He was glad she’d chosen the Dance of the Hours, though. It seemed like a good place to start. When she was done again, he and Dot stood and applauded while Jess gestured to Yakko, and then curtsied, and very primly excused herself.

“I think you’re ready for the dress rehearsal this afternoon.” Yakko announced, shoving the piano out existence. “Feel any better?”

“Maybe…” Her word was cut off mid belch. “Oops.”

“Happens all the time.” Wakko said.

“Okay, my turn!” Dot pranced over and grabbed Jess by the arm. “Time to pick your concert outfit!”

Jess started to protest, but must have thought better of it. “Okay!” Dot had made herself Jess’ wardrobe inspector from the very beginning.

“Don’t get too carried away, Dot.” Yakko advised. “Give her room for…well, you know.”

“I know.” Dot said, wrinkling her nose. “We gotta find you some female best friends…” Wakko heard her muttered to Jess. Jess giggled in response.

“I like my big brother best friend.” She announced proudly. “Belches and all.”

Yakko chuckled too. “Well. You’ve certainly made an impression on her. Not sure if it’s a good one or not but it works for us.”

“I didn’t leave any marks on her.” Wakko said. “Those clothes were wrinkled before we started.”

Yakko facepalmed. “Not that kind of impression, Wak.” Then he went to his room and Wakko heard him starting to get ready to leave.

He turned and headed to his room to do the same. _Tonight would be a good judge of whether or not Jess could handle being in front of an audience,_

he thought.


	3. Three

The auditorium was a mad house of parents, grandparents, and the participants of the talent show. It was amazing that so many people had come to watch a dress rehearsal. Yakko thought it would ruin the surprise of the evening. But then again, he and his siblings were there, too. They weren’t any better.

While Wakko and Dot ushered Jess back stage, he took stock of the place. He recognized very few of these people, thank goodness. But then he saw someone he did recognize. “Hey, Slappy!” He wandered over to where the older squirrel was sitting. “Skippy’s doing this thing too, huh?”

“Yeah. What can you do? He begged and begged.” Slappy said. “How is Jess holding up? Last I heard some nasty tabloids got a hold of her.”

Yakko shook his head. He wasn’t going to talk about that here with all of these people. “Later.” He said.

“I understand.” Slappy said. “You guys have done a hell of a job with that kid. I’ve seen her really open up over the last few months.”

“I think it’s mostly Wakko’s doing.” He said. Yakko didn’t really like to take credit for things, even if it was his to take. “I’m only doing the best I can to support her in whatever she needs.” 

Slappy nodded. “Still, I’ve seen her become more comfortable with herself and what she can do. That is definitely all you guys.”

“I guess you’re right.” Yakko said. Then he stood. “Excuse me. Jess needs me.” He got up and wandered towards the stage. Wakko was waving frantically. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t get her t’come out of the bathroom.” Wakko said in a worried voice. “I heard shoutin’ and went to investigate but by the time I got there, she was holed up.”

“Did you try your mallet? Or your battering ram?”

“Didn’t wanna risk hurtin’ her.” Wakko said, giving a shrug. “She’s still liable t’get hurt with our gags even if she can do some of them.”

“Alright. Time for Big Brother Yakko to take over.” He produced a key from hammer space, and when they got to the door, he unlocked it. He walked in, and heard Wakko and Dot follow. “Close the door, will you?” He asked his sister.

“Sure.” Dot closed the door and turned the lock.

Yakko went to the stall at the far end of the bathroom. He used the Warners’ own special knock. Used to securely let someone in the family know they are okay to be trusted and let in. Jess knew that knock. He’d explained it to her the day after he’d officially filed for guardianship. “Jess? You alright in there?”

“Do you have a ten ton anvil on hand?” Jess asked.

Yakko blinked. This didn’t sound good. That was total Warner response if he’d ever heard one. “Sure, I got one. Who am I dropping it on?”

“Her name is Nellie. And she is trying ot get me kicked out!”

“Kicked out? For what?” Yakko didn’t like talking to the stall door, but he also didn’t want to force his youngest sister to come out. She would come out on her own. “Is it the act?”

“Yeah.” Jess said. Then Yakko heard her breaking down.

“That does it!” Wakko said, and before Yakko could stop him he’d stormed out of the bathroom, mallet in hand.

“Jess? Can you open the door?” Yakko turned to the task of getting her to open the door. He was relieved when he heard the lock slide. The door opened a moment later.

Dot gasped. “Who did that?!” She asked. “I’ll kill them!”

Jess’ carefully chosen outfit was in shreds. Her hair was disheveled and she looked like she’d already been in a very physical altercation. “I didn’t use hammer space.” She said in explanation.

“That’s it. This has gone far enough.” Yakko said. He didn’t get angry often, if at all. But this… this was inexcusable. “Dot, you stay here and help her clean up. I’m sure you can conjure up another dress that’s just as beautiful. I am going to go help Wakko.” And by help, he really meant it.

#

“P-please, you know how kids can be! We can’t be everywhere at once!” The talent show director, the music teacher, Wakko thought, pleaded as he cowered against the back wall of the auditorium.

“So y’let them get away with hurtin’ someone who’s already been hurt?!” Wakko demanded. He had already played whack-a-mole once. He would do it again if this guy didn’t get the picture real quick.

“Seems like you’ve got yourself backed into a corner.” Yakko approached. At first, Wakko thought he was there to tell him to stop. Then he pulled a cage down from hammer space, and slammed it over the director. “Perfect. Now we’ve got a captive audience.” He said to Wakko.

“You’re not here to tell me I’ve gone too far?” Wakko asked.

“Nope.” He turned back to the director. “Do you know what your students have done?”

“I’m…afraid not…” The director cringed away from the cage as Yakko moved closer to get in his face. “I’m only one man…”

“Well, let me shed some light on the subject for you.” Yakko turned on a tall lamp that appeared. There were snapshots of Jess being tormented and even catching some of the physical altercation. “Is this how you handle things backstage?”

“I..I had n-no idea…”

Wakko couldn’t stop staring at the state Jess was in. He needed a bigger, heavier mallet. “Is she hurt badly?” He asked Yakko. “Can she still…?”

“If she wants to, she can.” Yakko said.

Wakko turned back to the director. “Where is she? Where’s Nellie? I think I might like to pay her a compliment.” _With my mallet._ He had on his serene face.

“I…I.. I don’t know… s-somewhere backstage, maybe?” He turned to Yakko then. “You… you can’t just…”

“Oh we can.” Yakko gave Wakko the key to the cage.

Wakko swallowed it whole. “Thank you.” He said politely, before bolting towards the stage again.

#

Once Dot had her calmed down enough, and changed via hammer space, Jess found herself feeling a lot better. “Where are our brothers?” She asked Dot.

“Taking care of business.” Dot said. If it had been anyone else saying it, that response wouldn’t have made sense. From the Warners, it was a clear message of reassurance. “Don’t worry about that right now. You’ve got to get ready for your final practice.” She led the way out of the bathroom, holding onto Jess’ arm firmly as if she feared that she’d try and bolt.

“Maybe I shouldn’t perform.” Jess said. “I’ve caused a lot of trouble already…”

“ _You_ didn’t cause anything.” Dot said firmly. “Look, you wanted to be like us, right? Then you gotta start thinking more like us. You can’t let bullies keep you from doing what you want to do.”

Jess glanced up hearing a commotion from down the corridor. Then she heard a crash. “What’s going on down there?”

“Let’s go find out!” Dot said, half leading, half dragging her after her excitedly. “I bet it was Wakko!”

Jess blinked. Then she stopped as they came to source of the commotion. Yakko was simultaneously sitting on Wakko, and yelling at Nellie who was cowering in a corner, pinned there by what looked to be blow darts. “Guys…” She said. She and Dot moved to stand near their brothers.

“Uh uh. You said you couldn’t deal with it, so we are.” Yakko said. He turned back to Nellie. “Say you’ll never torment our sister again.”

“Like hell.” Nellie sputtered. “It’s no wonder they locked you three up! You are insane!”

Without thinking, Jess pulled a cord from her hammer space, and an anvil landed on Nellie, trapping her. “Don’t you _ever_ say that again!” She ground out. “Next time, I’ll make it heavier.” She added as Nellie pried herself from under the anvil.

“You…how…? You really are a freak of nature! You don’t belong here with us. Go back to your water tower.”

“Gladly, as soon as you hand over a check for the dress you destroyed.” Dot spoke up now, holding out her hand.

“Forget it!”

“Oh well. I tried to be nice…” Then Dot pulled out her own mallet and gave Nellie a few whacks of her own. “Come on, Jess.”

“No.” Jess said. “The show must go on.” She turned to Yakko. “Come on, I need to practice once on the stage.”

Yakko nodded, and got off up off Wakko, but pulled him by the sleeve. “I think we’ve made our point, Wakko. Our sister needs us now. She especially needs you.”

“Oh alright…” Wakko shoved his mallet back into his gag bag before stuffing the whole thing into his pocket hammer space. “Let’s go carbonate.” He said, putting a hand on Jess’s shoulder.

“Sounds good!” Jess was all too eager to get on with things and pretend none of this had happened.


	4. Four

The talent show audience buzzed with anticipation. Jess could hear it from back stage. The crew had worked double time to clean up the mess the Warners had left behind in their rampage to take care of her. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot remained unapologetic. So did she.

Nellie was nowhere to be seen. It gave her a sense of relief as she got herself ready to go on. She would be taking Nellie’s spot in the performance order.

Dot had managed to conjure up a better dress when they got home to the Tower that afternoon. Her bow that night was an iridescent butterfly which she’d clipped to her swept up bangs.

“Two minutes.” The stage manager said to her before quickly passing by. It was clear the staff had been told about the incident. None of them were talking to her.

“You look great!” Skippy’s voice was the fourth most welcome voice Jess could have asked for at that moment. “I’m so glad you decided to come back and perform. Way to show ‘em you won’t be scared off.”

Jess shrugged. “I’m a Warner. We keep our commitments.”

“That’s right. We better get on stage now.” Yakko said. “Break a leg, Skippy. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Jess followed Yakko. She had guzzled a cola minutes before, and had a second one stashed in her hammer space. That afternoon, Yakko had shown her how to make it look as though the hammer space was in her pocket. It was the first time he’d deliberately shown her anything related to her gifts. She turned towards the wings before she stepped on it. Wakko and Dot were there, as promised.

“You can do it.” Wakko said quietly to her. “Just stay focused. Don’t worry about anything, and have fun.” He nudged her towards the stage. “Go on. They’re waitin’!”

She took another deep breath, swallowed it to give her a good start, and then stepped on to the stage. She walked to the middle of the stage where the circle of spotlight was. Jess felt as if this was a dream, and not a good one. The only thing missing was being in her underwear instead of the dress. She pushed her panic down. She _would_ do this.

Jess turned to Yakko. Her eldest brother offered a slight smile of encouragement and she nodded for him to start. She listened to the intro and to her surprise, she didn’t miss it when it was time for her first “note”.

While she didn’t move nearly as much as Wakko for belches, hers were loud and concise. And on time. At the interlude, she pulled out the second can of cola and downed it in two gulps, shaving time off. Wakko would be proud of that! She neatly put the can down at her feet just in time to begin the second half of the song. Dance of the Hours had been much easier to pick up than Blue Danube. And shorter.

Before she knew it, she was done. She was so stunned that she almost forgot to present Yakko as her pianist. But she did, and then gave her curtsies and thanks before Yakko was gently ushering her off stage. “I… I did it…” She said as her brothers and her sister came over to her when she leaned heavily against a wall.

“Yes you did!” Yakko said, patting her on the shoulder. “We are so proud of you!”

“How d’you feel?” Wakko asked.

“With my fingers.” She deadpanned, knowing perfectly well that’s not what Wakko meant.

“That’s m’line.” He said, chuckling softly. “Seriously. You doin’ alright?”

“Yeah…I think so. I’m just really tired now. Can we go home?”

“Y’don’t wanna stay and watch Skippy?” Wakko asked. “It’s just sitting in the audience now. Your part’s done.”

“Okay.” Jess wasn’t sure she’d be able to even stay awake, but she’d attempt it, for Skippy’s sake. She let her brothers and sister lead her down to the audience, and they found seats towards the back. By the time they were settled (completely with popcorn and candy courtesy of Wakko’s gag bag) the next act was preparing to go on.

As the night wore on, she found herself dozing off and on. Sometimes resting her head on Yakko, sometimes on Wakko. Whenever she’d start snoring one of them would gently nudge her awake. Finally, Skippy went on and performed a magic act that she was sure used hammer space. She loved Skippy, but she was glad it when he was done. “Now can we go?” She asked. She hoped they’d go by scene change, which had quickly become her favorite method of travel.

“Yeah.” Wakko got up, spilling popcorn and candy wrappers everywhere as he did. “I’ve to potty first.” He said.

“Down the hall to the left. And it should be open.” She added, remembering his one sketch.

“Thanks.” Wakko spared a split second to pat her on the head affectionately and then left in a blur.

“We’ll haul you home in a wagon.” Yakko said. “You don’t look like you’re good for the walk back.” Then he leaned closer. “Hammer space exhaustion?”

“No. Long day and emotional train wreck exhaustion.” Jess clarified.

“Ah, well, I know just what will fix you up when we get home. Some hot chocolate and a good night’s rest.” Yakko smiled. Then he turned to Wakko and Dot as the youngest Warner brother returned. “Sibs, we are carting our little starlet sib home in a wagon tonight.”

“She deserves it.” Dot said with a smile. Then she took the handle of the wagon as Wakko and Yakko got Jess settled. She started to pull the wagon.

#

Yakko followed the wagon closely as they approached the exit of the parking lot. They were just about to turn towards the main studio lot when he heard someone calling from behind them.

“Yakko, Wakko, Dot! Wait!” It was Skippy, and he was running at break-neck speed to catch up to them. “Hey, my agent was looking for you guys! He saw her performance, and wants to sign her right now.”

Yakko turned to Wakko. “You guys go ahead and get her home. I’ll stay and have a chat with this guy.” He found himself feeling particularly protective of Jess after the events of the day. “I’ll come back with you, Skippy.” He said.

“He was actually impressed. Especially after he hard she wasn’t full human.” Skippy said.

“Is that so?” Yakko said. He immediately put his guard up on Jess’ behalf. He had no reason to believe the agent was shoddy after all, he was Skippy’s agent so that probably meant he was watched very closely by the young squirrel’s aunt. Slappy would never allow anyone to hurt Skippy. Yet, past experiences where Jess was concerned dictated that he stay alert.

“Ah. Yakko Warner. Slappy here was just telling me a little bit about Jess’ history with you and your brother and sister. It’s truly a remarkable thing to see when people find each other, but when it comes to your circumstances, that’s just…”

“Yeah, yeah yeah. It’s great.” Yakko said, waving a hand at him. “What do you want with her?”

“Straight to the point. I like it.” The agent said. “Listen, as I’m sure she’s told you I came to the school a few days ago, looking for younger theater actors. There is to be a new theater opening down the street, and they’re wanting fresh talent for their main company.”

“And you want to sign her on a belching concerto?” Yakko raised an eyebrow. There had to be more to it.

“Actually, I witnessed her…special gifts backstage this afternoon. Do you know what that could do for the theater community?”

“Do you know what those special gifts do to _her_ if she uses them long term? If that’s all you’re interested in then I’m sorry. The answer is no.” Yakko said.

“I told ya he’d be a hard sell.” Slappy spoke up. “Yakko, that’s not it exactly. Skippy showed him the videos they’ve been making with her reciting all that Shakespeare you’ve been teaching her.”

“Ah!” Yakko knew that Jess had recently been devouring Shakespeare like it was going out of style. “Is that more accurate, then?” He asked the agent.

“Yes. Her proficiency and understanding of Shakespeare is something most children her age couldn’t even begin to accomplish. It’s clear she’s got some raw theatrical talent with or without your guidance, I might add.”

Yakko had to agree there. He’d seen Jess break down into fits of dramatic tears over a candy store shortage of her favorite treats until the manager brought her out stock from the back. Then she’d get up, give the manager a cutesy smile and pop the candy in her mouth like nothing had ever happened. For that, Dot needed the credit, he decided. “Let me think about it for a day or two. I don’t want her jumping into anything she’s not ready for. Tonight was hard enough.”

“I understand completely. Here is my card. Call me in the next day or two.” He turned to Slappy and Skippy. “And I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

“Right!” Skippy watched him go, and then bounded over to Yakko as he put the card in his slacks’ pocket. “You gonna let her do it?”

“I don’t know, Skippy. We’ll see how she felt about performing tonight in the morning. We’ll see you around.” Yakko turned and headed back towards the tower. He hoped his siblings wouldn’t bombard him with questions right away. He needed time think things through.


	5. Five

Jess sat with her hot chocolate at the counter. Wakko and Dot were sitting on either side of her, drinking theirs. So far neither had prodded her about how she was feeling beyond her exhaustion. She knew Yakko would though, so she tried to sort it out as she waited for him.

Being the youngest Warner, she had learned, meant that they worried about her. Though sometimes she wondered it if it was more because of her human side, too. It meant that she was a little more fragile than the average cartoon would be.

When she heard the door open to the tower, she gulped down the last of her hot chocolate and made a beeline for her door. If she could just avoid Yakko for another five minutes…  
“Freeze.” Yakko said.

To Jess’ annoyance, that particular physic worked on her as well it worked on anyone else the Warners had used it on. “Whoa…” Was all she could muster before Yakko was at her side. “Is this supposed to happen?”

“I guess so.” He said. He took a hold of her hand before he released her from the freeze frame. “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute before you got to bed. I promise, I’m not asking about tonight.”

Jess found herself relieved about that, but only temporarily. They’d aske her about it in the morning is what Yakko wasn’t saying. “What’s going on? I was just gonna get ready for bed…”

“I spoke to the agent.” He began as he led the way to the couch. By then, Wakko and Dot were sitting on either side, and Yakko sat down between them. “He says you and Skippy have been playing Shakespeare in the park? Why didn’t you tell us? We would’ve played, too.”

“You were working.” Jess replied easily. “Besides, I would’ve been too intimidated.”

“What? By us?” Dot asked. “I don’t understand…”

“C’mon. Yakko’s got Shakespeare down to a science. You can’t expect anyone to be able to live up that, human or otherwise.”

“What’ve I told you about letting that kind of insecurity get to you?” Yakko said, taking on his eldest brother tone. “Just because I’m good doesn’t mean I don’t mess up on occasion, and can’t have fun with it. Besides…you can get there, too. It’s not something that’s just for me. I worked really hard to get where I am now. I had to.”

“Why? You’re so good at everything, Yakko.”

Yakko paused. “C’mere.” He said. He patted the space between him and Wakko.

Jess went to sit between them and he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No. But I think there’s something you need ot understand.” He took a breath. “Jess, you know how you like improv?”

She nodded. “Uh huh. It makes me have to think fast on my feet. Very good for living with you guys!”

“Right. But the games have specific rules, don’t they? When you bend those rules, it changes and the game becomes more than what it was before.

When I was first starting out, they had me pegged as just the jokester. And that was fine for me. I didn’t care. Then I found out they also assumed because that’s what I was good at, I wasn’t well read. Well. I couldn’t have that, so I decided to read every book I could get my hands on, and then did research on top of it. So, you see? It was by necessity, more than anything.” He patted her on the shoulder. “You understand where I am coming right?”

“Yeah…I think so. But what does any of that have to do with Shakespeare?” She wondered where the rest of this conversation was going.

Yakko gives her a long, hard look, before he says, “Jess, come on. Did you really think me reciting Shakespeare in the original series, or me rapping Shakespeare for that matter, was actually planned?”

Jess was quiet for a long moment. “I did, actually…” The idea that Yakko never planned anything was a new one on her. She’d always assumed it was in the script. “Wow…” Then she bowed her head. “Was it that bad?”

“Nah. Hey, it’s okay you idolize us. But don’t get carried away with it, okay? I’ve been at this a very long time and I know how to bend things to fit without breaking them. It didn’t happen overnight.”

“About the agent?” She asked.

“Right. Well. He says that the company he’s trying to put together is looking to have some younger actors, and he was really impressed with how well you handled Shakespeare.”

“And?” Jess asked.

“The guy seems a bit fishy to me, but since he’s Skippy’s agent, we’ll give him a shot. But, you have to promise here and now that if you ever find yourself not having a good time, you’ll let me know and I’ll put a stop to it.”

Jess nodded. “I will.” She said quietly. Then she yawned again. “Can I go to bed now?”

“Yeah, go on.” Yakko said. “Do you want me or Wakko to tuck you in?”

“You.” Jess said, deciding it was time she let the others in more. “You don’t mind, right, Wakko?”

“’course not.” Wakko said. “I’ll be in after he’s done.”

Jess only nodded and turned to go into her room. She paused in the doorway. “Goodnight, Dot.”

“Goodnight!” Dot called. “Tomorrow, we’ll get you all fancied up for the festivities!”

Once in her room, she changed quickly, and then crawled into bed. “Isn’t that thing tomorrow?” She asked when she heard Yakko approach.

“Yes it is.” Yakko said as he came in. “Tomorrow it’ll be all official, and you’ll be able to stop looking over you shoulder. Don’t think we haven’t noticed it.”

“Oh.” 

“It’s alright.” Yakko began to tuck her in. “You’re already more like us than you were when we first met. This just makes it official.”

“Good night, Yakko. Thanks for being a good big brother.”

Yakko only shrugged a bit. “Good night.” He switched on the smaller nightlight for her as he left the room.

Jess squirmed a bit and untucked the blankets some. She turned towards the door as it opened again and Wakko’s familiar outline appeared in the doorway. “Hey.”

“That was some speech he gave, huh?” Wakko said. He walked into the room and quietly shut the door behind him. In the dim light of her nightlight, Jess watched him cross to her bed and sit on the edge of it. “He doesn’t tell just anyone that kinda stuff.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Wakko said. “Y’know… you’ve been with us awhile now. It feels like it’s been forever, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. But in a good way. Not like when I was in foster care.” Jess said, pushing herself into a sitting position. “Wakko, you and your brother and sister aren’t just my family, you know… I feel like you’ve been a part of me since before we met. Because of my great grandfather… he really liked you guys.”

“Makes perfect sense to me.” Wakko said. “You should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.” He hugged her tightly. “We’ll talk about tonight in the morning.”

“Did I make you proud, Wakko?” Jess asked, feeling sleep threatening to take her.

“You’ve no idea.” Wakko replied. “Go t’sleep.” She watched him through half closed eyes as he tiptoed to the door. He left it cracked. There was no light on in the hall, which mean her other siblings had already gone to bed.


	6. Six

Yakko woke up first the next morning. It dawned on him quickly that today was much more important than just signing some papers. It meant that he was taking on another mouth officially. And while he loved Jess dearly, he was still nervous about the finality of it all. But he wasn’t going to let that show. Jess needed all of them to be supportive.

They didn’t know what it was like to not know where they were going to stay from one day to the next. He imagined Jess had been worrying about that since the day she’d gone into the system. Now it would be finalized and she would no longer have the those worries. For that alone, he would deal with his own insecurities about it.

He was just getting his morning tea when he heard Jess and Wakko. He raised an eyebrow. When he’d gone to bed, Jess had been in her bed, and Wakko had been headed to his own room. Had Jess had another nightmare?

Yakko glanced up as Wakko and Jess came out of his room. “Mornin’, guys.”

“Mornin’.” Wakko went into the fridge and pulled an arm load of food out. “Let’s eat!”

Jess giggled. “You know I can’t eat that way! Especially right now.”

“Oh fine, ruin m’fun.” Wakko shoved the food back into the fridge. “How ‘bout some toast then?”

“Sure….” She turned to Yakko. “You’re not expecting me to let Wakko stay home, are you?”

“I wasn’t born yesterday.” Yakko said. “Actually, I thought we’d all go.”

Jess gave him a grateful smile before beginning to absently eat the toast that Wakko plated for her. “Then I guess that’s settled.” She said finally.

“Yep.” Yakko haphazardly set his cup on the counter. “Not still worried are you?”

“About what?” Jess asked.

 _Good enough for me._ Yakko thought. “Nothing.” He said aloud. “So… couldn’t sleep or nightmare?” He asked after moment.

“Both.” Jess said. “I tried to stay in my own bed, but…”

“S’alright.” Wakko said. “Was kinda weird findin’ you on m’floor this mornin’ though. Almost stepped on ya.”

Jess grinned. “Glad you didn’t…”

“Why’s everyone up so early?” Dot asked. She looked as though she’d just gotten up. She was even in her bathrobe.”

“Sorry, sister sib. We have to leave here in another fifteen minutes to go and make Jess an official Warner.”

“Oh! Right!” Dot stood straighter, all traces of sleepiness disappearing in a split second. “C’mon, Jess. There’s no way you’re going to the courthouse like that.” She dragged their youngest sister into her room and shut the door with a slam.

Yakko just shook his head. “I guess we all bring something to the table where she’s concerned.”

“What do I bring?” Wakko asked.

“I think you bring her some form of security, Wak.” Yakko said after a minute. “I don’t really understand it. She obviously loves all of us, but it’s no secret that she loves you most.”

“I didn’t do anything special…” Wakko said. “I was just kind.”

“Right. And that’s all she needs.” Yakko said. “You’re her big brother best friend. That’s enough. You don’t have to over analyze anything.”

“If you say so.” Wakko said. He seemed less than satisfied about the conclusion. “But she never says she idolizes me or Dot. Just you.”

Yakko blinked. “And who’s concerto did she perform last night? Not mine, or Dot’s. Yours. Dot even tried to talk her out of it, remember? She wanted to do something to impress you. As for her idolizing any of us, I think I made my point last night. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that anymore.”

It was at that moment Dot and Jess came out. They were dressed in matching skirts. Jess had a top on with a bow tied into a high ponytail. “Well…?” She asked Yakko and Wakko.

“You look great!” Yakko said. “Nice touch with the matching outfits, too, Dot. That will solidify things perfectly. As a matter of fact…” He glanced at Wakko, and his younger brother nodded. They both fast-changed into outfits that matched the girls’ skirts.

Jess gave a small twirl. “I like this skirt.” She said.

“Its nice.” Wakko complimented. Yakko wondered if it bothered him to see her more like Dot than the tomboy she was most of the time.

“It’s just for the courthouse.” Jess assured him, apparently coming to the same conclusion Yakko had. “Let’s go…before I lose my nerve.”

Yakko nodded. “Let’s go.”

#

Jess bounced on her heels anxiously before beginning to pace. Her adoptive older siblings were watching over her, none of them complaining. Then it happened. Another piece of a favorite sketch popped in her head, and the next thing she knew, “Chopsticks” was stuck in her head. And without really thinking about it, she began to sing it on an endless loop.

When she got to her third (or was it fourth) round, a young secretary glanced over at the older Warners and scowled. “Do something about this…” She gestured to Jess.

Wakko glanced at Yakko who shrugged. Then he got up and joined in with her. Jess giggled in between ending one refrain and starting another. “Hey, you’re not half-bad. Shoulda done this one last night. Maybe next time?”

“That is it! Will you both sit down?!” The secretary snapped, getting up from her desk. “Just…be quiet!”

“Hey, you said do somethin’, so I did. She sounded way better with me.” Wakko said, shooting a gookie at the woman’s back.

“Will the Warner party please come with me?” A baliff said suddenly, interrupting any remaining exchange that would have occurred.

“We’re at a party? But I’m not wearing my party dress…” Dot whined.

“Not that kind of party.” Yakko said. “Well. Here we go.”

Jess followed Yakko, with Wakko behind her. She felt him sneak a hand into hers and she gave it a squeeze. _Please let this go right… please….”_

“Jess!” Wakko suddenly pulled her to a halt. He held up a mallet. “It knocked my hand out of yours… are you anxiety-hammer spacin’?”

“I….” She blinked. Now she had another mallet in her other hand. “This is bad, Wakko. Really bad…” She watched him stuff both mallets into his hammer space.

“Breathe.” It was Yakko’s voice. “I got them to give us five minutes..” He took her over to a corner, where Dot and Wakko followed. “Hey. Look at me.”

Jess did. “I didn’t mean to… I swear…”

“I know, I know.” Then he paused. “Nations of the World.”

“Why not mine?” Wakko demanded immediately.

“’Cause, she already knows yours.” Yakko turned back to Jess. “I want you to focus on that instead of whatever is gonna happen in that court room.”

Jess thought his suggestion was ridiculous. How could she focus on that and pay attention in the courtoom? But already, she was trying to come up with the countries in the right order. “United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru….” She began.

“Mhm. There you go…” Yakko said. He turned to Wakko. “If she’s focusing on that, she can’t think about all the things that she thinks will go wrong. It takes more focus for her because she’s still learning.”

“Right…” Wakko said. He turned back to Jess. “Quieter. We’re goin’ in now.”

Jess nodded. As she settled down between Yakko and Wakko, she kept the song in her head. She didn’t know all of the countries so she kept repeating the first two verses, making a promise to herself that she’d learn more of it in next few days.

Yakko nudged her suddenly, and she stood. “We’re ready.” He spoke up.

“Good.” The judge turned to Jess. “We’ve been reviewing everything from the beginning, and it seems the Warners have, indeed, beaten the odds against them. I hearby declare you Jessica Teressa Warner.”

Yakko signed the paper quickly and with a flourish. “We done here?” He asked.

“Yes…” The judge said. “Congratulations on your newest addition…”

“Thanks.” The three Warners chorused. Then Wakko was pulling her into a very firm hug, which was soon joined by Yakko and Dot.

“Let’s go celebrate!” Yakko said. “Jess, what do you feel like doing?”

Jess shrugged. “Romping?” She suggested.

“Ah yeah! I haven’t had a good romp in a very long time….” Yakko said. He pulled down a scene change, and they found themselves in a deserted meadow. “Shall we?”

“Let’s!” Jess chorused in unison with Wakko and Dot. “Romp, Romp, Romp, Romp, Romp, hey! Romp, Romp, Romp, Romp, Romp, hey!” She quickly fell into line between Wakko and Dot.

They continued like that for awhile until her stomach finally began to growl. Then she dropped out of line. “Hey…guys? I think we should go get food now… we can do a conga on the way there?”

“Nah, I’m all romped out now.” Wakko said. He smiled. “That was a fun way t’celebrate though! Good one.”

“Yeah that felt really good!” Yakko said. “Proving once again you were meant to stay with us all along.”

Jess smiled. She like the sound of that. “Maybe that’s why my grandfather gave me my great grandfather’s things.”

“Possibly.” Yakko said. “But let’s not dwell on that now. You’re with us now, and that’s all that really matters.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “I see big things in your future, kiddo.”

“Maybe…” Jess had a feeling that talking about the talent show was gonna be next on Yakko’s agenda. She decided to delay it a little longer. “Pahsgehtti and Meatballs!” She declared. “C’mon, Wakko!”

Wakko nodded. And he initiated his own scene change.


End file.
